


darn you puzzle locks

by mysteriouslypeculiar



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Gen, Like, Third Wheels, like everywhere you turn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriouslypeculiar/pseuds/mysteriouslypeculiar
Summary: Adaine, girlie, you're working yourself to the bone! Get out of your wizard tower and hang out with your friends! Go talk to them!aka: Must suck to be the only single one in your entire friend group, huh? WRONG. Adaine's thriving. Her friends love her.written as a gift for @smallerthanzer0 on Tumblr!
Relationships: Adaine Abernant & Ayda Aguefort, Adaine Abernant & Figueroth Faeth, Adaine Abernant & Gorgug Thistlespring, Adaine Abernant & Riz Gukgak, Ragh Barkrock/Zelda Donovan/Gorgug Thistlespring, Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster
Comments: 12
Kudos: 59





	darn you puzzle locks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [smallerthanzero](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallerthanzero/gifts).



“This doesn’t make any sense.” Adaine said, dragging her hands over her face. 

“Maybe you’re reading it wrong?” Aelwyn suggested, not looking up from her magazine.

Aelwyn was laying down across the thrifted couch in their shared room at the top of the wizard tower in Mordred Manor, legs in the air, head resting on her palms. The epitome of casual relaxation.

Adaine, on the other hand, was crouched over her desk, thick tomes and parchment strewn across the dark wood. Her eyebrows were furrowed almost painfully close. She was stuck on a puzzle from Arcane Anomalies, a monthly subscription that sends a different magical puzzle that's almost impossible to solve. This months was the first one so far that had her stumped.

“You need to relax a little.” Aelwyn said, and Adaine could hear the couch cushions shift as Aelwyn sat up. 

“I’ve almost got it.”

“You’ve been working on that runic lock for-"

"I know," She groaned again. "But I think I've almost got it! Just need to…"

She waved her hands over the lock, blue wisps of magic floating between her fingers and pulsing around the lock. She mentally crossed her fingers that it'd work.

A loud pop filled the room and a plume of orange smoke floated up from the keyhole of the lock. Dark purple runes carved themselves into the rusted metal. 

"Shit." Adaine said, dropping her head onto the desk, landing in the crease of her notebook.

"Didn't work?" 

Adaine groaned in response.

She heard Aelwyn chuckle, as the ancient couch springs groaned again. She heard Aelwyn's soft footsteps on the carpet get closer, before she finally came to a halt behind her.

"Why don't you take a break?" She said, leaning on the back of Adaine's chair. 

"I need to..I want to finish."

"You're stressing yourself out."

"I just need to-"

"You  _ need _ to relax. Destress. Honestly, Adaine. I can practically hear the muscles in your back crying."

Now that she mentioned it, Adaine realized, her back  _ was _ really sore. 

She straightened her back, letting out a cacophony of cracks. 

"Good God, Adaine-"

"I know!" She laughed at her sister's exaggerated disgust. 

A moment of calm silence, before Adiane felt hands go to her head. 

She jerked forward, humming in discontent.

“Oh, stop fussing. I’m just going to braid your hair.”

Adaine huffed and leaned back, letting her sister’s fingers comb through her messy hair.

“Shit, Adaine, I truly don’t know how you let your hair get so-” 

“If just you’re going to insult me, you don’t-”

“I’m not insulting you I’m simply making an observation-”

“-you always do this! You pretend like you’re ‘trying to be nice’ when really-”

“-I  _ am  _ trying to be nice!”

“No you’re not! You never-”

“Woah now,” The two were cut off as Jawbone cleared his throat. He stood, leaning against the doorframe, flannel unbuttoned slightly to reveal the white tank underneath, brown fur bursting from the top. “Why don’t we take a five, huh?” 

Aelwyn took her hands back, patting Adaine’s shoulder gently. 

“I’m sorry, Adaine. I meant nothing by it, truly.” 

Adaine huffed again, looking down at her notes. Meticulous notes on an arcane puzzle that was built to be impossible. But she wanted to get it done. 

“Thank you, Aelwyn.” She said, wiping the eraser shavings from the pages. 

There was a beat of silence before Jawbone cleared his throat again.    
“Alright. That’s something, I guess.” He clapped his hands together, fur slightly muffling the sound. “Aelwyn, Sam’s here to pick you up. Why don’t you get some cash from Sandralynn before you head out, okay?” 

Aelwyn smiled and walked out, not before waving goodbye to Adaine.

Adaine returned the wave and went back to her work.

Maybe it had a continueum, similar to Gorthalax's ruby? She thought she'd checked for curses already and had only detected one… or maybe it was transmutated shut- magically welded back together. 

She heard shuffling in the room, and she didn’t need to look up to know that Jawbone had sat down on the couch behind her desk. 

She rubbed her forehead, the purple runes beaming into her eyes. 

Did that mean she'd done something right? 

“Adaine,” Jawbone said, breaking the silence. “you need to get out of this room. Been in here all day.”

“I’m working on something.” She said, not taking her eyes off of the runes. 

“I know that. But your work’s not going anywhere. You need to take a load off, kid. C’mon. Fig and Ayda are in the living room. Fig’s working on something too. Why don’t you take a listen, hmm? At least get a snack or something.”

Adaine shook her head, although she knew Jawbone was right. Her eyes were straining from staring at the small symbols. Her fingers were cramping from holding onto her pen. And, at the very opportune moment, her stomach let out a whine. 

“I  _ am _ kind of hungry.” She said, sighing.

Jawbone laughed, a hearty sound. 

“Alright! Let’s go down! I’ll make you some lunch.” 

He pulled her into a half-hug and she smiled, burying her face into his soft side. 

***

“Adaine! Hello!” “Hey, Adaine!” 

Fig and Ayda called out to her as she entered the living room, Jawbone splitting off to the kitchen.

“Morning Fig, Ayda.” Adaine said, swiping Fig’s can off soda the table and taking a sip. 

“It is far into the afternoon.” Ayda said, turning in her chair to face Adaine.

“It’s, like, 2pm.” Fig said, laughing. She elbowed Adaine, playfully. 

Adaine felt her face heat up slightly. 

“Well...” She sputtered. 

Fig laughed again and she repositioned her bass, tossing it over her back, strap holding it up like a bag.

“What have you been doing up there?” 

“Wizard stuff.” Adaine sunk into the couch.

“Oh! Are you still trying to solve that arcane lock? The one from Arcane Anomalies.”

Adaine sighed, pressing Fig’s chilled soda can to her forehead.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Fig said. 

“It’s  _ impossible _ .” Adaine said. “Everytime I think I’m getting close to figuring it out, another layer of arcana wraps around it.”

“If you wish, I may be able to-”

“Thank you Ayda,” She cut her off. “I really appreciate your offer, but I actually enjoy the puzzle. I just...get caught up in solving it. But Jawbone’s right. The puzzle’s not going anywhere. I can work on it later.” 

“That a girl!” Jawbone called out from the kitchen, before peaking out from around the arch. “You want chicken salad? Or tuna?” 

“Chicken!” 

“You got it!”

“What about you two?” Jawbone motioned to Fig and Ayda.

“Hell yea!” “I would love a sandwich please.”

“Alright!” He said, chuckling to himself as he walked back into the kitchen, a chorus of “thank you’s” following him.

They talked about Adaine's impossible Arcane lock puzzle until Jawbone returned with the sandwiches. Another chorus of “thank you’s” as he chuckled and waved them off, walking back to the kitchen, hands cradling a steaming mug of coffee.

Fig all-but-scarfed down her sandwich, chicken salad spilling from the seams and trailing down her shirt. She promptly picked the globs off one-by-one and threw them at GAF, who bobbed in their water bubble, lazily moving through the air to attempt to catch the globs of chicken.

“She does know that he’s noncorporeal, right?” Adaine whispered to Ayda.

“She likes to feed him.” Ayda replied, her intense expression slightly relaxed as she looked at her paramore.

While Fig’s crumbs soared over them, Ayda and Adaine enjoyed each other’s company, the conversation drifting between topics. Occasionally Fig would pipe in with a joke, immediately distracting the discussion. 

As Adaine finished her sandwich, and Ayda’s was reduced to cinders, she stacked the plates and put them down on the table in front of them. She once again stole a sip from Fig’s soda can.

“Did Fig show you the-” Ayda started, before Fig jumped up.

“Oh yeah!” She laughed. “Adaine! You  _ have  _ to see this!”

She grabbed her bass, almost vibrating with excitement. 

“Listen to this!”

She brought her hand down on the strings and a thunderous chord rang from, seemingly, all corners of the room. 

“New sound system! Gorgug wired it last night!” 

Adaine’s ears were ringing and she forced herself not to cringe from the noise. 

“That’s great!” She said, rubbing her head. 

“It’s so loud!” Fig said, her excitement alone making Adaine smile. 

“It is.”

Fig started strumming something, eyebrows furrowing as she focused. 

“I’m working on a new song.” She explained. Beside her, Adaine felt Ayda shift, leaning forward in her spot on the couch. “Phoenix Flames of the Heart.” 

She heard Ayda sniffle, and saw that her eyes were welling with fiery tears. 

Adaine smiled. She was so happy for her friends, however corny their displays of affection were. 

However, as the minutes ticked by, and Fig’s song became more and more, for lack of a better word, lovey-dovey, Adaine grew more and more awkward. She loved listening to Fig’s music. She was truly a talented musician, obviously, since she’s a famous rock star, however Adaine felt a bit like a third wheel, sitting on the couch next to Ayda as Fig waxed poetic. 

She was planning her escape when she heard the front door close. 

“I’ll go check who it is.” Adaine said, but she knew that they weren’t listening. 

***

“I genuinely don’t know what to do with this.” Riz said, face in his hands.

Adiane looked at Riz’s crystal, open to his email. 

**_“Hey! You’re that detective kid, right? Can you help me find out if my crush likes me? Her name is-”_ **

“You can just say no?” 

Riz groaned and lied back in the chair.

Riz had stopped by just in time to give Adaine an excuse to excuse herself from Fig’s impromptu, albeit very touching, serenade. Forced out of his office by his mom, he’d been in the same boat as Adaine. Overworking himself. 

They had moved to one of the other little sitting rooms by the front door. Old Victorian Haunted Mansions and their abundances of rooms and secret passageways, you know. 

Although they were quite a few rooms away from Fig, the sound of her bass reverberated through the room, minor tremors shaking the bookshelves ever-so-slightly. 

Riz had come into some trouble with his private investigation agency. As word had gotten out around school, he had become increasingly more well-known. While respected might not be the most appropriate term, he was definitely known. 

“Everyone just wants me to help them with their love lives.” He complained. “Which is absolutely the last thing I could help them with.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty clueless about that.” Adaine joked, as if she had any room to talk. 

Riz sighed, although a smile tugged at his lips. 

A moment of quiet passed, or as much quiet as they could have with Fig loudly declaring her undying, burning love for Ayda just rooms away.

“Why don’t you just… say no to her? Do something else?”

“I don’t really have anything else.” Riz said, rubbing the crease between his eyebrows. “I have nothing on the Yorb, and I don’t have any other cases. These… love quests are kind of the only thing I have right now.”

Adaine nodded, thinking carefully about what to say. 

“You don’t...have to have a case all the time.”

She felt Riz tense up next to her slightly. Almost like a wince. 

“I… know that. I mean, yeah, yeah,” He stammered, cheeks going a bit pink. “Yeah, I know that.”

He did not sound convincing.

“Have you been talking to Jawbone?” 

Riz looked down at his clawed fingers, inspecting them with his inquisitive gaze.

“It’s not easy. Letting go. Letting myself have fun.” He said, after a moment. 

“It gets easier.” Adaine said, putting a hand over his, stopping them from wringing. 

“It is easier.” Riz added, smiling. He brought his legs up, sitting criss-crossed on the couch. “It’s a lot easier to have fun with you guys. It’s just hard for me to figure out how to do it on my own.” 

“Luckily for you, you’re not alone.”

At that moment, Fig let out a loud chord, shaking the walls. 

_ “I love you!” _

Adaine chuckled to herself.

“C’mon. I think the jocks should be done with Bloodrush about now. Ragh’ll know how to get us amped.” 

***

Ragh did know how to get everyone amped.

When the jocks- Fabian, Gorgug, Ragh -got back from Bloodrush practice, Adaine's conversation with Riz was cut short.

“The Ball!” Fabian cheered, voice ringing in the small sitting room. “You must hear about our incredible practice! Gorgug-”

And they were all but gone, lost in their small bubble of Fabian-and-Riz. 

Ragh slid down next to her on the couch, slotting down in the space where Riz had been sitting before he had joined Fabian on one of the old victorian velvet chairs, sitting on the armrest as Fabian spoke animatedly about today’s Bloodrush practice.

“He’s a goner, huh?” Ragh said, voice low. 

Adaine stifled a laugh. 

“Like Fabian’s any better.” 

Those two were absolutely the last in their friend group, save for maybe Gorgug, to know that they were both head over heels for each other. Two idiots in love. Mutual pining, both believed to be unrequited. Tale as old as time.

Ragh laughed, not even pretending to stifle it. 

“Gorgug, get over here.” He called.

Gorgug was still standing at the entrance, ducked down to fit under the arch. 

He waved at Adaine and she scooted over to let him sit down next to Ragh.

“Adaine, tell him what you said to me.”

And Adaine repeated her comment about her oblivious friend, to her equally oblivious friend. 

Ragh’s hand around Gorgug’s shoulder, pulling him close. Gorgug effortlessly leaned into Ragh’s side, like a piece of a puzzle slotting into place. 

It had taken Gorgug ages to pick up on the fact that Ragh was interested. Ragh, thinking Gorgug didn’t want to hurt his feelings and was purposefully ignoring his flirting, had almost given up. That is, until Kristen reminded him who he was working with. Ragh needed to be explicit. And he was. Gods, he was. 

_ “Gorgug: you’re fucking hot, dude! Wanna date?” The sign had read, held proudly between two hands. Zelda and Ragh had talked about it before. Zelda knew Gorgug was crushing hard. She also knew Ragh was crushing hard. A sneaky secret-keeper, scheming behind the scenes, helping Ragh organize the small ambush at the Thistlespring tree. _

“Nice work, by the way.” Adaine said, looking at Gorgug. “With the stereo. It’s… very loud.”

Fig had long since finished her ballad and was now suspiciously quiet.

“Thanks!” Gorgug said, his eyes brightening at the recognition. “It’s nothing really-” 

“You gotta stop selling yourself short, babe!” Ragh said, pulling Gorgug into a playful head-knock. “That’s, like, totally awesome.”

“Yeah! Gorgug, you’re really gifted.” 

Gorgug smiled shyly from the compliments, ducking his head. 

“Thanks guys. I really appreciate it.”

***

They talked casually, switching from topic to topic, Fabian and Riz eventually coming out of their stupor to join the conversation as well.

Before long, the shadows in the room were shifting as the light streaming in through the windows went from bright, beaming white to a soft, warm orange. The sun was setting. 

And as always, when the sun was setting on a Bloodrush practice day:

“Kids!” Lydia called, her gruff voice always surprisingly warm. “Dinner, let’s go! You know the drill.”

They filed into the dining room, barely talking as they rushed to get to their seats.

Lydia Barkrock’s famous chili night. 

There wasn’t any fear of running out; Lydia learned the hard way, raising Ragh, that if she thought she made enough, she needed to make one more batch. The chili was just  _ that good _ . 

Kristen and Tracker were last to the table, which they almost always were. Adaine doubted they hadn’t even left their room- whichever one of the two they had slept in.

Adaine looked around the table, at all her friends talking over one another. Loud, almost incessant talking. Occasionally broken by one of the many couples sharing a kiss or a meaningful look. 

It was nice to be surrounded by friends who loved each other, even in the times where the love got a bit too...lovey. Because, at the end of the day, they all loved Adaine. And Adaine loved them.

Maybe the real answer to the weird runic puzzle lock was the friends made along the way.

Nah that’s stupid. It's probably an abjuration ward. 

She'll ask Aelwyn for help tomorrow. And maybe let her braid her hair.

**Author's Note:**

> I, for one, think that Adaine and Aelwyn should have bunkbeds. It's what they deserve. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!


End file.
